Time for a new desktop. Should I have ordered more RAM?

Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share (MPSIMS)
#1

I’ve been upgrading my current system since 2011. It finally gave out on me. It hasn’t successfully turned on since I unpacked it from the move. I keep getting a hardware error. Something on the motherboard probably burned out. Who knows. But it did give me an excuse to buy a new system. I’m hoping this one will last me a few years, at least. I intended to get more RAM, but there was a free upgrade for 16GB to the DDR4-3200 (up from 3000). I figured I could always buy another 16GB later. Will I even need it? Plus this thing has 32GB of Optane memory, which I don’t even know what that is.
What else may I have missed getting or will regret later?

Processor(Intel® Core™ i9-9900K Processor (8x 3.60GHz/16MB L3 Cache))
Fans: (3)
Processor Cooling(iBUYPOWER 240mm Addressable RGB Liquid Cooling System - Black - [Z370])
Memory(16 GB [8 GB X2] DDR4-3200 XPG D41 RGB Memory)
Video Card( NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 - 8GB (GDDR6) (VR-Ready))
Motherboard(ASROCK Z390 PHANTOM GAMING 6 – RGB, Gb LAN, USB 3.1 (1 Type-C, 5 Rear, 4 Front), ASRock Super Alloy)
Power Supply(1050 Watt - Standard 80 PLUS Gold, Full Modular)
Advance Cabling Options(Standard Default Cables)
M.2/PCI-E SSD Card(512 GB Intel 660P Series M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD – Read: 1500MB/s; Write: 1000MB/s)
Intel Optane Memory Accelerator(32GB Intel Optane Memory - Boost Data Drive - Up to 23x Faster for HDD and 3.3x Faster for SATA SSD)
Primary Hard Drive(1 TB WD Blue SSD – Read: 545MB/s, Write: 525MB/s - Single Drive)
Data Hard Drive(1 TB Hard Drive – 32MB Cache, 7200RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive)
Optical Drive(ASUS 16X Blu-ray Rewriter, DVD Rewriter Combo Drive - Black)
Media Card Reader / Writer(Kingston USB 3.0 High Speed Media Reader)
Meter Display(None)
Sound Card(3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard)
Network Card(Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100))

#2

Personally, I’d put more memory in it, but it depends on what you plan on using the computer for. So, what do you plan on using the computer for? What software do you want to run? What types of apps will you be using?

Here is a decent, if not very technical, description of optane memory.

#3

Can you cancel the order? 16 GB is fine but I have issues with other elements.

Why do you need a 1 KW PSU? 650W from a quality brand is more than enough.

I don’t think you need a M2 SSD, a SATA SSD, and a HDD - especially a HDD of such a low capacity. Unless it’s an external backup device, of course.

You can skip the optical drive these days.

Despite the price premium I would get a RTX 2080 Ti over the RTX 2080. Do you have a 4K or 3440x1440 monitor to get the best from it? I’m assuming you’re a gamer.

#4

That’s one of the worst pieces of advice I’ve ever seen. LOTS of people still use CDs. They’re practically tailor-made for transferring files that are too big to be emailed. And they’re way cheaper than thumb drives.

#5

I’d up the RAM to at least 32GB especially if you’re running Win 10. It’s one of those things that you don’t notice it’s improving performance until you don’t have it or upgrade to it. The same with Optane, which caches read/writes to/from the SSD/hard drive. Not necessary, but nice to have even though you may not notice it’s there until you don’t have or later install it.

I have some very heavily serious thoughts and concerns about external drives (which can be read at videohelp.com), but in a nutshell, since it’s a new build, I’d ask/add a removable hard drive cage or two so you can insert/remove your hard drive(s) for backup/easy replacement.

#6

I planned to order another two 8GB sticks later on. I wanted 32GB, but the free upgrade was only for 16GB. Had I ordered 32GB of 3200mhz RAM, I would have paid full price for all four sticks. This way, I could get two sticks for the cost of the 3000, and then buy two more 3200s separately. I just went ahead and ordered them now, so they will arrive around the time the system does.

It was a free upgrade from the 650Watt.

It just kind of worked out that way after taking advantage of all the Black Friday deals they were offering. I still have my current HDD with all my pictures and music and files on, plus my home network backup. So, I didn’t need to order a large storage drive with this system, as I’ll be pulling drives out of my other one.

I cannot use thumb drives at work. They are not allowed to be plugged into government computers. Transferring data on CDs and DVDs is a daily thing for me. Arguably, I didn’t need the BluRay, but it wasn’t that much more, and I’m sure it will be useful.

The RTX 2080 was a free upgrade from a GTX 1080.

I use dual 4K monitors.

Only if KSP and ONI count as “gaming”. I think I might get a 3D game set up for this computer though.

I don’t really do anything out of the ordinary. Arguably, I don’t need anything more than a basic system. But I just can’t stand a slow computer. When I start opening up a lot of windows, and displaying a bunch of pages while doing research for school, or if I’m Photoshopping something large with a lot of layers, I just can’t stand when when a computer gets bogged down. Computers are like cars to me. I always end up with something that’s a bit more than I need. It’s how I ended up with a Hellcat that I have no intention of ever taking to the track.

#7

It’s running Windows 10 Pro. I know exactly what you’re saying about performance improvements. The experience is so much better when everything runs smoothly, and always opens right up regardless of how much stuff is open or running. I went ahead and ordered the extra RAM separately. I was going to wait but I think I’d rather just get it out of the way now.

#8

I went with 16GB when I finally replaced my old dieing Lynnfield-based machine a few months ago. But then I don’t do any video editing or 3D modeling. Just some moderate gaming( strategy and RPGs )and light photo editing at worst. I think the current loose consensus is that most users will not see much if any measurable improvement with 32GB unless you are messing around with aforementioned stuff like video. To the point of 16 even being reasonably future-proof in the short tem( i.e. the next few years ). And with the latest Intel chips( as opposed to AMD ), the speed of the memory isn’t having a real significant impact either.

However, if you have already budgeted for 16GB and got 16 for free, I suppose it is no particular burden to double up :). I get the impulse to overbuild - just a matter if you want to spend the dollars for what might be a trivial increase in power( depending on your usage ).

#9

I was running 16GB in my old system when everyone else was running 4GB and 8GB was considered overkill. I’m currently running 32GB in my new system, and that’s only because the 64GB kit I bought has a bad stick. I still haven’t gotten around to returning it for exchange, but when I do, I’ll switch to 64GB. I don’t do anything that requires even 32, but the way I look at is, the seconds I save adds up to hours over the years I’ll keep this build.

#10

I’m surprised. I’m not a an early adopter by any stretch, but it’s been at least three years since I needed an optical drive. Maybe more.

ETA: now that I think of it, the last computer I have with an optical drive is a 2011 model.

#11

Thinking about it even more, I’m in a business that deals with delivery of files around a gig or so to consumer level clients, just regular joes and janes. It was in 2013 that I killed CD/DVD delivery due to folks not having optical drives. Two years ago, I stopped USB delivery of files, and made it download only, as that is what my market preferred. I’m dealing with people about 25-45 in age, so that may influence it. But I, as a 43-yr-old, can’t remember the last time I used a burnt CD for files. DVD maybe 2013 for clients. CD? Wow. 2005?

#12

The major advantage to optical media for distribution is that it can’t added to or overwritten* if pressed or burned properly, i.e. no open sessions. This is critical for businesses that require top security.

*Yes, i know the data on an open session disk can’t be overwritten, but it can be made inaccessible.

#13

Have you ever heard anyone say ‘this damn computer has too much memory’?

#14

I always, always install all the Ram, fastest, that the motherboard can take.
I use all the slots I can instead of the biggest stick. Top brands only. 64 GIG currently.
Many SSD’s instead of giant ones.
I do not like liquid cooling but that is just me.
If my computer is not faster than the fastest pipe I can afford, it is not fast enough. I don’t have super fast pipes where I live but fiber is getting closer.

YCMV

#15

I’m an amateur photographer.

I’ve been able to turn my interest in photography into a paying hobby, doing family portraits. But I’m different from most photographers–I don’t print out any pictures for my clients. Instead, I put the pictures on a CD, and give it to the client. That way, they can decide what, if anything, to print out.

I have been doing this for about 3 years. Only ONCE in that time–and that was this year–have I been asked if I could put the pictures on a thumb drive instead.

You know something? I really, really wish that Dopers would make an effort to get rid of the mindset, “I haven’t used X technology for Y years; therefore, it is clearly obsolete.” In the vast majority of cases, it is NOT obsolete.

#16

Bear_Nenno, out of nominal curiosity, what is this beast costing you?

What is the memory configuration? Is it 8,8 or 4,4,4,4? This will determine how much the upgrade later will whack you.

#17

To be clear, I didn’t get 16GB free, I got a free upgrade on the type of memory. Pay for 3000mhz, get 3200mhz. But they only offered it for 16GB. So my options at that point were to buy 32GB of the 3000mhz and normal price, pay for 32GB of 3200mz with no discount on price, or get 16GB of the 3200mhz at the price of the 3000, and then get 16GB more of the 3200 later. So I went with the last option, and ordered another 16GB separately.
Am I correct in assuming that 32GB of the the 3000 would be faster than 16GB of the 3200?

So glad someone gets it!

$2300 including the additional 16GB of RAM. They’re probably not the cheapest, but they were the only company I found (besides Dell) who would ship to an APO.

It will arrive with 8 8 installed and another matching set will arrive separately. So it will be 8 8 8 8.

#18

The good news is that if you, in the future, need to upgrade past 32Gb of ram, you don’t need to rip everything out. The better news is that you probably will never need to upgrade past 32Gb.

#19

Exactly. And clearly cost is not much of an object- going to 32 or even 64 gigs isn’t going to materially change the cost of this system.

#20

A year ago or so I built my system with 16GB, but memory prices were going through the roof.

I paid $185 for two 8GB sticks that had cost $60 only 18 months before that. Proof.

There was no way I was going to pay for 32GB.